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Nothing delights the inner streetspotter in me more than to see a creatively dressed, misunderstood artist wandering down the street or palavering in a colourful bar. Imagine my excitement when the first images of the Burberry Prorsum RTW fall line for men hit my little laptop screen. A catwalk filled with the gorgeous reincarnations of early 20th century British painters.

According to the designer, Christopher Bailey, who is also the brand’s chief creative officer and chief executive-designate, the line was inspired by artists such as Lucian Freud, Ben Nicholson, Christopher Wood and Duncan Grant.

“Painters on a journey, romantic painters with a masculine point of view, and the artists’ efforts at self-expression.”

Long patterned scarves, classic coats with a twist, chunky sweaters and silk shirts dominated the intriguing look. But also, attention to detail must be given. Not only is it hard to overlook the big leather and suede bags the models carried around,but also the city street map and floral prints that were used to create the fabric’s patterns are quite interesting and amusing. I am glad to see it come back as a theme in the fall line for women as well.

The Burberry Prorsum fall line for women is also all about texture, but had more of a “Downton Abbey” vibe to it. And again attention to detail was payed. The whole line is a patchwork of all kinds of fabric and unusual patterns in odd, but fascinating combinations:

Again the quirky designs complete the collection. T-shirts, blouses and coats with local landmarks and citymaps printed on them, keep the look light and fresh. While the creative and playful use of textiles and colours keeps it interesting and gives the whole collection a bit of an edge.

To see the full collection, watch the link to the WWD slideshow below:

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In London, the Somerset House pays tribute to the late Isabella Blow (19 November 1958 – 7 May 2007). The exhibition “Fashion Galore” remembers the ever fabulous and fashionable magazine editor, stylist and muse of many talents (such as Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy). A woman who succeeded in establishing herself in the international fashion and art world.

The Somerset House lets you take a look into Blow’s private collection of dresses, hats and accessories. The exhibition also features personal belongings and footage and fragments of her work. Like entering a walk-in closet that tells a story.

The duo (red. Curators AlistairO’Neill and Shonagh Marshall) also approached Blow’s husband, Detmar Blow, to obtain more personal items for the show. Her Rolodex with entries written in pink ink using her Waterman pen, stubs of her signature Chanel Rouge Coromandel lipstick, old business cards, self portraits drawn on napkins, and her false lashes are displayed, giving insight into her idiosyncrasies.” – Samantha Tse, Blouinartinfo.com

The exhibition showcases over a hundred pieces from her collection, which is thought to be “one of the most important private collections of late 20th Century/early 21st Century British fashion design”. A value that is based on and fueled by the many designer talents she discovered and launched, such as Alexander McQueen, Philip Treacy, Hussein Chalayan and Julien Macdonald. For example, one of the more illustrious pieces in the collection is the 1992 graduate collection from Central Saint Martins, which she bought in its entirety for £5,ooo, paying it off in £100 installments each week.

The curators really tried their best to make the exhibition display a lived life. Isabella’s clothes were not restored to appear as new. They want to show every tear, every missing bead, even lipstick stains, so as to preserve their stories.

We wanted to be able to say this is an amazing beaded McQueen jacket, yet it’s got rips and tears where she got it caught in car doors or when people treaded on it. It’s all a part of the story and I think that we need to be able to think about surviving the dress in this way now because those traces are actually quite important.” – Alistair O’Neill, Blouinartinfo.com

“Fashion Galore” promises to be a true an detailed reflexion of a controversial woman with a defiant and unapologetic artistic vision. A woman that let herself be intrigued by unconventional beauty and experimental artforms, combined with a gift for recognizing talent, which makes her a major influencer and icon of fashion history and fashion today.

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If you have accessed a social media platform the past week than you probably have already seen the following gallery. So this post is for everyone who has missed the beautiful but nevertheless disturbing drawings of an Imgur member and his/her artistic friend.

They decided to do a little experiment with LSD. One of them took on the challenge of making autoportraits of herself while under the influence of the drug whilst the other monitored the developments. Every so many minutes/hours the illustrator was asked to make a drawing of herself. She obviously had access to a box full of colourful pencils and she was not afraid to indulge, which lead to beautiful quotes like: “Here you go. I’m violet.” and the more obvious: “That was a good idea, buying coloured pencils.” (Fore more information, check http://imgur.com/a/ZKhFa#zV5Hq9q)

Another artist who likes his hand to be guided by all kinds of narcotics is Bryan Lewis Saunders who published a whole series entitled “Autoportraits sous drogues”. “After experiencing drastic changes in my environment, I looked for other experiences that might profoundly affect my perception of the self. So I devised another experiment where everyday I took a different drug and drew myself under the influence.” The experiment did appear to have some side-effects. The artist now works a little more cautious. “Within weeks I became lethargic and suffered mild brain damage. I am still conducting this experiment but over greater lapses of time. I only take drugs that are given to me.”

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Sometimes you are just dumbfounded by all the great and amazing things around you. You can’t describe them, they render you speechless. And sometimes we take them for granted, we get so nujmb by all the beauty and all the emotion, you stop noticing them.

Freelance graphic designer and word lover John Koenig started a peculiar blog project in which he attempts to find words and definitions that can still capture those almost undefinable moods and twilight emotions that give us goosebumps or get us wondering. The blog is called The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows and Koenig describes it as “A compendium of the aches, demons, vibes, joys and urges that roam the wilderness of the psychological interior. The author’s mission is to harpoon, bag and tag wild sorrows, then release them gently back into the subconscious.” in the information section of his tumblr account.

Where English fails, he goes over the language borders and hunts down the most foreign of words, phrases, character formations and the most curious of definitions.

Watch his poetic video about “Sonder” and let Koenig amaze you in a way no other dictionary can.

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So yeah it’s summer that means that there are a lot of awesome festivals, the most of them just ended but I have some great news for those who still want to spend their energy on one:

WE CAN DANCE SAT 10 and SUN 11 august @ Zeebrugge Beach

You don’t know what it is ? Well dont blame yourselve, it’s a new festival concept organised by the owners of Kitsch Club, Club 69 & Magic. They had the idea to bring the Burning man (see previous article) and the Coachella vibe back. So all those boho chic party animals who love to get wild on electronic music get your asses at this amazing festival.

Well like the coachella vibe is hanging around you obviously need to come with that calfiornian bohemian look, let the hippie in you out and get those long dresses and those flower print shirts out! Thats actually the dresscode. No inspiration? Get some tips here below.

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A year and a half ago, a new street artist started using the walls of Stockholm as his canvas. The street artist’s real name remains anonymous, but he is known as Herr Nilsson. Yes, this name might ring a bell amongst Pippi Longstocking fans, because it’s the name of the little mischievous monkey, Mr. Nilsson. The name also refers to his first known artwork, a monkey with a molotov cocktail in his hands.

Since a couple of weeks now, he’s back in the spotlight, because the artist has been messing with the graphic identity of our good-old, good-natured Disney princesses. Drawing them on corner walls with guns and knives in their hands, with evil on their mind.

However there is a moralizing idea behind the creation of these suddenly wicked princesses. It’s Herr Nilsson’s way to debunk stereotypes, because he finds our beloved cartoon characters – especially the female ones – too predictable.

Because of my kids I’m surrounded by toys, games and movies at the moment. Of course there’s a lot of creativity in the toy and entertainment industries for children – but most of the cartoon characters, female in particular, are very stereotyped and predictable. Always so innocent, fair and harmless. The Dark Princesses are a comment on violence, but they are also a comment to how we look upon good and bad in the world. Everybody expects a fairytale princess to always look good and behave well. If I was one of them I would revolt after a couple of days. And in my world they do,” Nilsson said in an interview to The Local.

His intentions may be pure, but his paintings aren’t granted a happily ever after like the characters they depict, because there’s a Zero Tolerance Policy against street art in Stockholm. A picture has to be removed within 24 hours. When asked if he would go back to exhibiting his work in designated spaces such as galleries, he says that his ideas don’t work there.

I want to stage a situation where my artwork interacts with people on the street and the real environment, not a fictional environment in a gallery.

When asked how he thinks the city should handle street art, his reply is inspiring and true for many street artists. He thinks their art should be treated and heard like a voice. Now only rich companies get the opportunity to speak out, because they can afford the advertisement space. Whilst they too should have the right to say what they want in the public space.

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Swedish photographer Clara Hallencreutz likes to have fun with her art. Keeping it light and whimsical, but nevertheless clever and appealing. Her current project, The Taste Chanel exhibition, is a perfect example of her style, fusing food and fashion. It’s fun, fresh and, well, fabulously fashionable.

According to her website the tone of her artwork can be described as “amusing and carefree, featuring bold dynamic colours isolated in a clean surrounding. Often portraying small-scale installations of everyday objects painted with a pop artist palette”.

And pop art it is. Her art can easily be called warholesque. Blending one of the most influential fashion brands with popular foods, and making it into colourful pieces of art. Spending time in front of the camera as well as behind it. The glamorous Swede would most likely get Mr. Warhol’s stamp of approval.

Currently Hallencreutz’s artwork is being shown one piece at a time (changed when sold) at the Opera Gallery in London. Prices start at around € 4,500. Every piece is limited edition or a one-off.

For behind the scenes footage and to stay posted on her projects, you can follow her on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Make sure to take a look!

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Clothing chain ZEB is known for its rebellious attitude towards sales regulations. So it was generally expected, they would clash with standard regulations again coming sales period.

So what’s new this time? Of course they are ignoring the waiting period that comes before the actual sales period – no shock there – but this time they decided to announce their defiance with quite a provocative commercial.

The result is pretty to the point. Three women take of their clothes in a crowded shopping street and walk defiantly towards a camera. They are properly covered with black censoring bars that have the word SALES on them. In the end a voice-over announces the start of the sales period in the ZEB stores. Short. Catchy. Noticeable.

It’s hard not to see the similarities with the 2009 Make The Girl Dance videoclip “Baby baby baby”. In this 4.30 minute music video three naked women shake up the Rue Montorgueil in Paris.

In comparison the relatively short ad (10 seconds), could have larger consequences than expected. Unizo and NSZ already announced they are going to file complaint against ZEB, but the girls in the video are also facing repercussions.
The girls risk jail time that could go from 8 days up to an entire year and a fine that could go from 26 euro up to 500 euro. Why? Because the production crew did not have legal consent for the recordings that were held in Leuven. “If witnesses can confirm the recordings, then it’s a case of public indecency,” explained a representative of the Leuven based prosecution.

Personally I find these measures ridiculously over the top. I have nothing but respect for these women, who were apparantly streetcasted for the occasion. Courageous passers-by who were recruited for their guts and willingness to walk along a street, naked. Honestly, would you?
And I don’t believe they were harming anyone… So what’s the problem anyway? We’re no prudes.

So lets watch ‘the making of’ of the video and applaud the models and the makers for this awesome project.

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A small article on a cute little find: Burberry Kisses.
Sounds like the title of another lipstick ad, doesn’t it? Well it sort of is, cleverly hidden in a cool app, so it doesn’t feel like an ad. Luxury marketing on a new level.

Kisses.Burberry.com lets users send personal messages to their loved ones. The message gets sent in an enveloppe and is sealed with a virtual imprint of their actual kiss (in a real Burberry lipstick color, of course).

Burberry paired up with Google to launch this (digital) worldwide project, which is basically an ode to Love. We know what a love brand like Burberry sees in a project like this, because what is more effective than love to activate the masses and connect people worldwide? Aren’t we all suckers for romance? I know I am. But what is Google’s part in all of this?

Well, this project is part of Google’s Art, Copy & Code initiative. An initiative that aims to humanize technology through emotive digital experiences. They are spot on with this one, if you ask me.

The experience of signing off your message with a real kiss is engaging and really fun. And after you send your message to your loved ones and into the digital universe, you can follow that kiss on a global map of kisses. This map shows cards being sent from one destination to another in real-time.

Once you have captured your lip imprint, you can fill out a postcard with your friend’s email, city and submit.
Apparantly, if you are sending this postcard from New Delhi to Mumbai, you’ll catch a glimpse of your letter sealed with your kiss flying across the Taj Mahal and descend upon Mumbai’s skyline.

Try it! Support romantic projects like this and follow the love around the world…